NASA will have two floats in the inauguration parade, scheduled to begin at about 11:30 a.m. PT. A model of rover Orion, a capsule designed to transport astronauts deep into space, will be part of the event.

Current and former astronauts also will march in the parade.

Curiosity is part of an effort to determine whether environmental conditions on Mars could have been favorable to microbes. The journey to the drilling spot should take about two weeks.